ABSTRACT
Oil and gas will remain crucial traded commodities in the global economy as world energy consumption is projected to increase by 60 per cent from 1999 to 2020, in particular in the developing countries. 1 Throughout the past decades oil has been the world’s dominant source of primary energy consumption, and is expected to remain in that position in the twenty-first century. In addition, natural gas appears to be the fastest growing source of energy consumption and is expected to account for the largest increment in electricity generation because of its environmental and economic advantages. The former Soviet Union was the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, exceeding the production of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Following the break-up of the Union the Russian Federation remained one of the leading oil and gas countries in the world. However, the development of Russian oil and gas industries in the last decade has been troublesome due not only to the political and economic crisis in the country, but also to the difficulties of the transition to the market economy.
